Time To Come Home
by EloiseLawrence18
Summary: Not everyone is the same after tragic life events, some people change and turn their back on what used to be. Can anything be their salvation? Will family and friendship shine through despite the odds?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone! **

**Anything written in italics is either a thoughts/diary entry or a memory/flashback. I hope you enjoy the story and please let me know what you think! Any questions, just ask.**

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_8 months ago was when everything changed for good. It has been 8 months since I last saw my friends, the people I once cared about and who I thought cared out me; the actions during those events made it very clear that that was not the case._

_I can still hear the screams, smell the blood and see the fire. I can still feel the pain of being tortured in that cell. I remember Elena being bought into the cell opposite me and the sorrow in her eyes when she recognised me. It was only a day that Elena was trapped in that cell; her friends spent no time at all in getting her out, but me? I was in there for two weeks. That was the first time it all became clear._

_When it was all over I did what I always do, I ran. There was nothing and no one keeping me in that hurtful little town anymore, I didn't hesitate, I didn't look back – I didn't need to. I know that no one was following me._

_I have a very long story to tell, all about the wonderful new family that I met, the loving family that made me who I am today, the family I'd always wanted. Georgiana and her two beautiful daughters Milly and Henrietta; my salvation._

_Their death; my destruction._

* * *

_Caroline's screams were the first thing she heard, her vampire abilities allowed her to sense her from miles away. She'd found her; a feeling of relief clouded by fear as she heard her screams._

"_No, no, please" She cried as she shook the body of a little girl, lying lifeless in her arms. "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" She sobbed, the tears flowing freely down her face and sinking into the greying skin of the little girl before her._

_Rebekah slowly pushed the door open, alerting Caroline to her presence. She didn't even care enough to turn around; she didn't care who it was or what they wanted because he'd killed them, her family._

"_Caroline?" Rebekah whispered, placing her hand on her shoulder, attempting to steady the sobs raking through the baby vampire's body._

_Caroline froze as recognition hit her; she knew that voice. It was a voice from her past, one she never expected to hear again. _

_Her tears stopped as she turned around slowly, her eyes meeting the piercing blue ones of an old friend. She searched them, desperate for an answer, desperate for some help. Rebekah hadn't even realised she was holding her breath; this was not the Caroline she knew, she was strong and fierce. She had never seen her look this broken._

_She sighed, a small sign of recognition and pain crossing her eyes as she knelt down behind Caroline, following the turning of Caroline's head back to the body in her arms as she saw the greying skin of such a young girl in front of her. She had no idea who it was and why she meant so much to Caroline, but she had spent 8 months looking for her and there was no way she was going to lose her again._

_She sighed, pressing hard into Caroline's shoulder, only just catching the painful gasp that escaped her lips before her unconscious body fell back into Rebekah's arms._

"_Come on, it's time to go home" Rebekah whispered, picking her up and taking one last look at the desiccated child lying on the floor. A great sadness rushed over her as she remembered Henrik and how young he also was when he was killed._

_She squeezed her eyes closed for a second before turning and walking out the door, finally with Caroline in her arms, after months of searching._

* * *

Caroline's laugh filled the grill as she grabbed hold of Elena's shoulder to stop herself from falling off her chair. All of the events that had made them sad, stressed and miserable for the past few months were finally over and it was now their chance to be themselves again, to finally enjoy themselves.

Elena smiled, enjoying seeing her best friend so happy after having worried that her light was gone forever after the death of her mother.

"Matt, where's our refills buddy?" Damon smirked, holding his glass up in the arm signalling for a refill.

"I second that!" Caroline laughed, her words slurring slightly as she continued to wobble on her stool. Bonnie smiled, laughing to herself and enjoying how happy her friends were. "But first, I need to use the restroom" She giggled, picking herself up and stumbling across to the bathroom.

She reached down, her hands steadying her as she leaned against the sinks, looking up and examining herself in the mirror. Her hands spread through her golden locks as she attempted to fluff it up and add more volume. Her frown creased as her hearing focused in on the sounds of screams coming from outside.

"What the-"She started, walking back over to the door leading out into the bar. She could smell blood, lots and lots of blood. Grabbing hold of the door she pulled it open and instantly saw how the bar was frozen, everyone was listening and lingering in their seats.

"Stefan?" She called, turning her head towards him, focusing in on the look of confusion on his face. He shook his head; no one knew what was happening.

Walking over to the window, Matt pushed the blind to the side and he gasped, dropping the glass in his hand as he turned back to them.

"What the hell?" He shouted, pulling the blind up and watching the scene unfold. There were people screaming, running, fire spreading all at the hands of large group of men.

"We are going to burn this town to the ground until we capture and kill every single vampire or supernatural being that lives here. It's time to take the town back!" The man roared, a dirty smirk on his face as he watched his men burning buildings and scaring the town's folk in front of him. "Everyone go home, or come and be collateral damage"

"Well I'd say that this party is over" Damon growled, slamming his shot glass onto the bar. "Time to go" He frowned, slapping Stefan on the back as he and Elena started walking towards the back door; well out of the way of the maniac.

"What? We can't just run away? He's hurting innocent people and burning our town!" Caroline squealed, looking to Stefan for support. "So he wants vampires dead, who doesn't? I'm pretty sure we can take him" She exclaimed, trying her best to get everyone onto her wavelength.

"Believe it or not Blondie, but I don't fancy burning alive right now, besides, we need to find out who this maniac is before we go after him" Damon spoke, blankly ignoring her concern for the innocent people and buildings in the firing line.

"Sorry Care, but I'm agreeing with Damon on this one, let's just get out of here and go back to the house and we'll figure out who he is" Elena piped in, looking at her sadly; Caroline always cared about everyone, even people she didn't know.

She sighed, nodding her head as she began following them out. She could still smell blood, lots of it, but she didn't know where from.

"Doesn't this town have a Sheriff?" Caroline stopped mid track as the cool, but smoky air filled her lungs. Everyone in front of her with vampire hearing also heard the men talking and they turned to watch her, Stefan walking towards her, readying himself for her actions.

"No, I dealt with her a long time ago" She heard the laughter surrounding this statement and recognition crossed Caroline's face. These men haven't just arrived here; they've been here all along. She finally recognised who it was - the new Mayor, the man who said he tried to save her mother.

They rounded the corner and the man laughing came clearly into view. A low growl escaped her lips and she could feel the veins under her eyes bubbling as her fangs pushed through her gums. He looked straight at her and that's when she knew he wasn't human, because he knew she was there.

"Caroline don't!" Stefan whispered, reaching out for her arm as he noticed her face changing. Everyone was now on edge.

"Yes, I let her die" He whispered and at that moment she flashed, it only took one second for Stefan's grip to loosen before she had flashed before him, her vampire speed startling the men; they obviously didn't believe the Mayor when he said vampires were real. She grabbed hold of one of the men, pulling his neck aside before splintering his skin with her fangs, his muffled screams were short lived as she sucked him dry, letting him fall to the ground.

"Blondie" Damon growled, letting go of Elena's hand and levelling with Stefan, watching from afar.

A painful scream filled the air and they gasped.

"Caroli-"Bonnie screamed, before her mouth was covered by Damon.

"Ssh before you alert them to us as well, we'll get her back don't worry" He growled, loosening his grip on Bonnie's face.

Now it was serious.

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**Let me know what you guys think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here's the second chapter for you all, thank you to those that reviewed and favourited the story. Enjoy!**

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"Damon, we are not leaving her with them! We don't know what they're going to do to her!" Bonnie cried as she paced around the Salvatore Boarding House living room, glaring angrily at the dark haired boy.

"Bonnie, calm down. We aren't going to leave her I promise, we just need to figure out a plan to get her out without being exposed ourselves. That wouldn't help anyone" Stefan explained, trying to calm Bonnie down and ease the anger towards his brother.

It was true; there was no point in going after Caroline to be captured as well, especially because they are all supernatural; except Matt of course.

Slumping back down into the sofa Bonnie sighed, rubbing her temples in a desperate attempt to get rid of the strong headache that was beginning to show. It was so easy for her friends to leave Caroline with those men, even when she was right in front of them when it happened. She shook her head, disappointment evident to the two brothers sitting opposite her.

* * *

Elena sighed as she rubbed her hands over her shoulders, desperately trying to release the tension in her shoulders. Slipping off her clothes she looked at herself in the mirror and sighed, it never used to be this hard.

Closing her eyes for a second she reminisced about the times when she wasn't a part of this world, where she and Jeremy were just normal and uninvolved. Shaking her head she pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind, there was no point in thinking like that anymore. This was her life now.

All she could think about was Caroline and how useless she felt, being unable to do anything to help her. It'd been two days and they hadn't been able to find out any information on the new Mayor at all; where he came from, who his family is, what his connection is to Mystic Falls. It was like he didn't actually exist and they had no idea where to find him.

Turning around she pulled back the shower curtain, grabbing her shampoo before stepping into the bath tub. Walking forward she reached her hands out towards the water before screaming, the shampoo bottle falling to the floor. Vervain. She pulled her hand back with such force that she pulled the shower head down with her, causing her to be splashed even more.

She cried out as the water splashed her body, causing more burns to appear on her skin. Yanking the curtain back she flashed out of the bath and into the corner. Her breathing was heavy as she looked down at her skin, the burns exposing new wounds.

Within seconds the door slammed open and Damon was in front of her.

"Elena! What the hell happened?" He shouted, grabbing hold of her face and looking into her eyes, concern evident before he looked down at the wounds beginning to heal on her body. He handed her a towel as Stefan and Bonnie entered the room and she breathed heavily.

"There's vervain in the water supply" She cried as she looked down at the sink next to her. Damon growled.

"You have got to be kidding me."

* * *

Caroline growled, her fangs exposed and veins pulsing as she looked up, her hair hanging over her face, covered in dry blood and sweat. She looked down at her hands, the chains beginning to cut into her skin and the chair becoming increasingly more uncomfortable.

She had no idea how long she'd been in there but they'd been torturing her since she had, her body was covered in wounds laced with vervain, stakes were still prodding into her skin and her wounds weren't healing properly; she desperately needed blood.

Looking up she was in complete darkness, she could see a small amount of light entering when the door at the end of the corridor was opened, but her cell meant she could only see ahead to another empty cell opposite.

"This one, open her door" A voice growled and the barred door creaked open in front of her. She looked up, noticing the smirk on his face and the vervain in his hand.

"Who are you?" She asked, warily watching him as he approached her slowly.

"Your worst nightmare darling. You'll find out soon enough" He laughed, turning back to look at the other men to smirk. Turning back towards her he grabbed a hold of her cheeks forcefully, turning her face to the side before bringing the vervain up and shoving it down her throat.

Tears fell down her cheeks as she screamed, thrashing around against the chains, desperately trying to escape the torture.

* * *

"Right, he said that the town is filled with men dressed in army outfits walking around, stopping everyone to test them with vervain, the place is on complete vampire lock down" Bonnie explained, hanging up the phone.

"But the bus boy can get us in, perfect" Damon smirked, grabbing hold of a knife and slipping it into his coat pocket. He noticed Bonnie's disapproving look, "Safety precaution" He chuckled before slapping Stefan on the back.

"Let's do this".

* * *

Arriving in town they walked slowly, taking in all of the army men and their positions, listening in to any conversations relating to vampires. They had one very simple plan, to get to the grill where they would meet another friend of Bonnie's.

Matt had rung Bonnie earlier explaining that there was a woman at the grill that wanted to see her, someone to explain what was going on and who these men were.

"There are two men standing at the entrance to the grill at the moment. Text him" Damon called, turning back to Bonnie and Elena.

**Hey Matt, we're outside, help needed for the guys on the front. B x**

She nodded to Damon. "Get ready!"

Within seconds they saw Matt wander out of the grill, two drinks in hand on a tray.

"Hey guys, do any of you want a drink at all? Bit hot out here today!" Matt called, laying the tray down on the table and pulling out his cleaning supplies.

"What have you got for us then?" One of the men asked his voice so deep that it grumbled.

"The specials are on this board here" Matt explained, walking through the middle of the men, pointing at the specials board. "Take your pick and I'll make it fresh" He chuckled, leaving them to it as he began wiping down the tables.

Damon saw the slight nod and flashed over to the entrance of the grill, Stefan and Elena right behind him. Bonnie was lurking in the bushes close by, ready to enter when she knew it was safe.

"What the-?" Damon growled, stopping dead at the entrance of the grill. "They've blocked the doors" He whispered to Stephan and Elena who turned and flashed back over to Bonnie. "You're by yourself witchy, get in and get out" He growled before turning and flashing off, back in the direction of the boarding house.

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Slamming open the door he growled.

"This place is beginning to turn into an obstacle course; we can't sneak around when we can't get in anywhere!" He cried, walking straight over to the glass cabinet and grabbing himself a glass, filling it with whiskey and slugging it straight.

"Damon it's fine, Bonnie will find out what we need to know and come straight back" Elena soothed, walking up to him and looking into his eyes, he frowned before nodding and walking back over to the sofa.

"Well I guess we wait then" He sighed, Stefan nodding as he took a seat opposite him.

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Twenty minutes later and the door opened loudly as Bonnie walked in, Matt behind her.

"You will never guess what I found out" She cried, waiting for Stefan to re-enter the room, a glass in hand.

"The new Mayor? He's part witch, part vampire."

"Oh brilliant, another crazy hybrid on the loose" Damon cried, rolling his eyes before looking back to Bonnie. "Tell us more".

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**There you go guys, hope you enjoyed it!**


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry it's late, but enjoy!

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Chapter Three

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It had been another two days since they had finally found out that the new mayor was part witch, part vampire; which made it increasingly hard to fight against him, considering he could hear, or smell you coming and could block you from him or hide himself away.

It was early in the morning and Elena woke in her room, looking across at the currently empty single bed. She frowned slightly, lifting her head to look around for Bonnie. She listened until she heard her out on the front lawn and she sighed, flashing down the stairs.

"Bonnie?" Elena asked, alerting Bonnie to her presence before taking a seat next to her. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing!" Elena asked, rubbing her hands over her arms as the cool breeze hit her, scanning the fog for any sign of activity.

"It's been four days already Elena and Caroline is still with them, we can't leave her any longer we need to do something!" Bonnie cried, slumping over and resting her head in her hands, her eyes closed.

"I know Bonnie, we will I promise, we'll get her back" Elena whispered as she reached forward and hugged her friend, comforting her as her hand ran through her hair.

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Caroline had no idea how long she'd been stuck in the cell, but it felt like a century. She was becoming increasingly weaker as time went by, as the men continued to torture her every day. She didn't understand why she was even still alive; she thought he'd wanted to kill all vampires in the town.

She looked up; her blood shot eyes and pale skin making him smirk slightly as he poured a shot glass of blood down her throat, her eyes pulsing and fangs lowering at the taste, at how hungry she was.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked, watching him as he paced around in front of her. "I know you're a vampire, why are you trying to kill your own kind?" She whispered, watching the open door.

He glowered at her before walking out, slamming the door and blocking her only exit.

* * *

It was now morning and Bonnie, Elena and Damon were currently residing in the living room, the two vampires drinking blood bags to try and increase their strength.

"I'm going to try and contact Grams to see if she knows anything from the witches on the other side. We need to find out where Caroline is and get her out now" Bonnie explained, taking a sip of her coffee as she frowned at the vampire's choice of beverage. "Where's Stefan?"

Damon frowned. "He was gone this morning when I got up" Damon explained, sighing at the concerned faces in front of him. "He said he was following a lead, something that could help us in this situation"

"What? Now isn't the time for him to leave!" Elena cried, putting her glass back on the table. "Why didn't he tell us?" She asked and Damon sighed, shaking his head before standing up.

"Right, the plan is this, you go to town to try and hear or see anything that could help us, and I'm going to go on a scavenger hunt. Clear?" He smirked, grasping his hands together before pulling out his phone and walking out the door.

* * *

"Look at those two guys over there, they look a bit shifty" Elena whispered, pointing slightly to two guys walking around, looking suspiciously around them. It was still only early and the human occupations were beginning to open. Elena and Bonnie saw Matt and smiled as he nodded towards them, clearing the tables.

Elena and Bonnie were currently residing behind the bushes of the small park in the centre of the town, trying to pick up on any leads whilst staying out of the man's target line.

Bonnie nodded as she too watched the men walking towards the grill. They had their hands in their pockets and she sighed. "What are they doing?"

Elena shook her head, watching intently before a loud noise caused her to jump. Within seconds three army men had surrounded the guys and they gasped as two wooden stakes pierced through their chests, the men falling towards the floor, their skin greying over the passing minutes.

Elena turned, grabbing hold of Bonnie and flashing out of the centre of town.

* * *

"Damon, they just staked two vampires in the middle of town. How do they even know who are vampires?" Elena cried as she paced around the living room, still shocked with what she saw.

"If that's what they did to two vampires on the street then how do we even know that Caroline is even still alive?" Bonnie asked as she stood up, raising her hands at Damon in a desperate attempt for them to find answers. "I need to find Grams" She whispered before turning and walking out of the room, over to the stairs and up to her bedroom.

"Did you manage to find anything out?" Elena asked as she curled up on the sofa, her arms wrapped around Damon's waist as she snuggled her head into the crook of his neck, closing her eyes at how exhausted she felt.

"Not much. Although the psychopath does have some sort of invasion and new invention type of plan" Damon spat, taking another sip of his drink, the whiskey burning the back of his throat.

"This story sounds far too familiar" Elena whispered, feeling Damon nodding to her statement.

"Unfortunately so" He whispered.

* * *

Five days later and they had finally managed to get a hold of Stephan. He had text them to tell them he was safe and that he was coming home with something that would help. It was only early in the morning but Bonnie had received an urgent text message from Matt telling them to look on the Mystic Falls news channel.

Having turned on the TV, the presenter was currently showing footage of Elena, Bonnie and Damon flashing away at numerous times throughout the day.

"These three supernatural beings are dangerous, do not attempt to catch them, they are being dealt with" The presenter explained before it flashed to the adverts.

"You have got to be kidding me" Damon growled, watching as their pictures spread up all over the news. "Well I'd say now would be the perfect time to kill this dick"

* * *

Bonnie had told Matt about their plan to come to town and despite the fact that he thought they were stupid, he would help them the best he could without getting caught, he was only human after all.

Matt had told Tyler what was happening and he too joined forces with Damon, Elena and Bonnie in order to kill the man tearing their town to shreds.

As they walked through the centre of town Damon picked up on a man whispering and turned to find the man himself staring back at them.

"Well I wondered when you'd pick up the courage to show your face again. Stupid mistake, but it makes it much easier for me" The man smirked, laughter coming from the men around him.

Damon smirked, before a flash of the hand meant he had splintered two men with stakes right through the heart, he winked as he watched them fall to the floor.

The man looked down, growling at his men dead at his feet.

"Well wasn't that a clever move" The man glared before a twitch of his hand had Damon flinching at the pain seering through his head as the witch finally showed his true colours. "Killing supernatural beings in this town has never been so easy" He spat as he continued to fry Damon's brain. Elena turned towards Bonnie and nodded, covering her as she ran in the opposite direction.

As she turned back around she smirked at the man as Tyler jumped on him from behind, his fangs splintering his neck allowing the wolf venom to spread through the vampire's veins. His cries were heard for only a fraction of a second before Tyler was slammed into the ground in front of Elena. Damon had got back on his feet and the three took on a stance ready to fight the all-powerful being himself.

* * *

It hadn't been long before they were surrounded by men with stronger weapons than the vampires cared to admit. Stakes were piercing them and although they were strong, the witch had made them weaker with his spell, causing their wounds to heal much slower than what would have been helpful.

Seconds later he winked at Damon before grabbing Elena and flashing off into the opposite direction, a flick of the hand allowing Damon and Tyler to fall to the ground as their necks began the healing process yet again.

* * *

Caroline was sitting in her cell when she heard loud crashes from outside the corridor. The door slammed open, allowing a small amount of light to flood through and she looked up, for the first time being able to see the cell opposite her. She closed her eyes for what seemed like an eternity before she heard a voice all too familiar.

"Care?" She looked up, her blood shot eyes showing how truly exhausted she was. The circles under her eyes were covered by bruises, tears of the skins and fresh open wounds. It was clear to see she'd been tortured; her hair, clothes and skin was covered in dried blood and her body was slumped, unable to move under the chains.

She glared as she finally focused in on the shadow sitting opposite her. Elena.

"Caroline are you okay?" She called, looking over her best friend in front of her. Caroline took in her appearance, how she still managed to look perfect and unscaved, clear she'd been feeding well whilst Caroline had been stuck in here.

She couldn't help but feel resentment and hatred towards the girl. Caroline had been stuck in the cell and tortured day after day but everyone had still made time to care for Elena. She blinked at Elena, noticing the pain on her face as she obviously took in Caroline's dreary appearance. Caroline just shook her head, closing her eyes again as she allowed her body to slump forward into a state of unconsciousness yet again.

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_Hope you enjoyed it!_


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